Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Hereto, on present box call, a striker lid is a rectangular paddle that covers the open side of a rectangular hollowed box. The lid having a short handle that protrudes out past the end of the box. The call is actuated by striking the longitudinally, double convex bottom of the striker lid against the top of the box sidewall in an open and close scissor type motion. The lid pivots on an axis at the opposite end of the handle. Reference to U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,108 to Ben Lee (1982). Even though these calls can be mastered in due time with great manipulation, there are disadvantages.
(a) Past box calls that are actuated from the end of the handle have a mechanical disadvantage. The reason being that the handle is at the furthest point from the pivot axis. When the lid is actuated the operator""s arm becomes an extension of the handle creating unwanted excessive motion that can be detected by the hunted game.
(b) Due to actuating the striker lid from a handle at one end, it is difficult to produce certain sounds of the wild turkey, specifically the xe2x80x9ccluck and purrxe2x80x9d and the xe2x80x9ccuttingxe2x80x9d calls of the hunted game.
(c) The present handle of box calls protrudes out past the body of the box. This causes the lid to be knocked around in the hunter""s pocket or vest causing unwanted sounds during transportation possibly alerting the hunted game.
(d) Present box calls are operated with two hands. One hand to hold the bottom of the box sound chamber and one to actuate the striker lid by its handle.
The single hand actuated friction type box call of the present invention consists of three principal components, a generally rectangular wooden box, a longitudinally double convex bottom striker lid and a return mechanism. A generally rectangular, elongated hollow wooden sound chamber box is up by the assembly of a horizontal base, a front and back wall and a pair of opposed end blocks place one at each end of the base and between each sidewall. A handle less double convex bottom striker lid, with a thumb slide tab attached to its"" top side, is hinged to one end block of the sound box to provide an axis point for movement of the striker lid. This axis point may consist of a screw that passes through a pre-drilled hole in the striker lid and a spring before fastening to the end block of the sound chamber box. The return mechanism serves a dual purpose of holding the striker lid in an open position and holding the striker lid against the top of the elongated, convex-topped back wall. The return mechanism may consist of a mounted eyelet connected to the double convex bottom side of the striker lid. This eyelet is aligned with a hole drilled through the elongated, convex-topped back wall of the sound box. A looped stretchable band may be connected through the eyelet then threaded through the drilled hole in the back wall and then wrapped around the end of the sound chamber end block. The band is then held in place in one of the three variable tension connectors that may be notched into the side of the base on the opposite end from the pivot screw and on the opposite side from the hole drilled in the side back wall. The call can be easily actuated by holding the call on its side in the palm of the hand and resting the thumb on the top of the striker lid and against the slide thumb tab then squeezing the lid shut. The call is now actuated with just the movement of the thumb and cut down on excess movement. The tension from the looped, stretchable band returns the lid to the open position plus it sets the correct tension between the striker lids against the sound chamber box wall. This preset tension helps the call produce otherwise difficult calls like the xe2x80x9ccluck and purrxe2x80x9d and the xe2x80x9ccuttingxe2x80x9d call. Since there is now no protruding handle extending out past the body of the call all unwanted sounds are silenced during transportation of the call. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawing.
The compact one hand operated, friction type, turkey box call comprises a generally rectangular, elongated hollow wooden sound box assembly forming internally a sound chamber, a double convex bottomed striker assembly, and means for mounting the striker for pivotal movement across the open top of the elongated hollow wooden box against the contactable wall of the sound chamber box imitating the kee-olking sound of the live wild turkey. The turkey call further comprises a looped, stretchable band means carried by the sound chamber box, operatively engaging the striker for resisting movement of the striker across the contactable wall of the sound chamber box as to normally bias said striker into a position slightly unparallel to the sound chamber box. The striker is a planar member having parallel surfaces, one being flat and the opposite being of a double longitudinally convex side and one end of the striker being cut in a pointed angle in shape and at the opposite end of the striker a means for pivotal mounting to the sound chamber box for pivoting about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the contactable wall of the sound chamber box. The wooden sound chamber box assembly comprises a horizontal base, laterally opposed, vertical front and rear walls extending along opposite sides of the base and parallel to each other and opposed end blocks connected at opposite ends to respective ends of the base and the front and rear walls of the sound box assembly. One end of the striker is pivoted to one of the end blocks for oscillation about a pivot axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the sound chamber box contactable wall. The biasing means comprises a looped, stretchable band connected to the bottom of the double convex side of the striker then the band passes through a hole in one of the walls of the sound chamber box then positioned around the end block of the chamber box projecting the striker to an open position that is slightly unparallel to the longitudinal position of the sound chamber box. The turkey call striker assembly comprises a planar form, consisting of a flat upper side surface and an opposite double longitudinally convex bottom surface and having a width that is same as the base of the sound chamber box and consisting of one end opposite of the means of connection to the sound chamber box that is of a pointed angle shape. The angle edge surface is cut at a degree with the vertex of the angle starting at the corner of the flat upper surface end having a thumb tab slide being affixed along the upper flat side surface along the angle edge surface providing a means of actuating the striker assembly with the thumb of the operator of the call. The turkey call horizontal base comprises an elongated rectangular shape having three U-shaped notches being formed into the longitudinal edge of the base near the opposed end of the means of pivotal connection.
scope of the appended claims.